AOW: Bradbury has strong weekend at state tourney

March 6, 2014

CHARLES TOWN - Zane Bradbury came within inches, mere seconds of winning an individual state title.

Article Photos

Zane Bradbury of Washington works to maintain control over Justin Allman of Parkersburg South at this weekend’s state wrestling tournament. Bradbury finished second at 182 pounds. (Journal photo by Jessica Manuel)

While competing against Parkersburg South's Justin Allman in the 182-pound final, Bradbury had Allman down the for the count but Allman managed to lift up just in time and avoid the pin.

Eventually, Allman battled back to win the match and push Bradbury to a second-place finish. However, Bradbury getting to the final was the biggest achievement of his short wrestling career and his finish was the best by any Eastern Panhandle wrestler at the Class AAA state meet in Huntington.

For his her performance, Bradbury has been named The Journal/Gold's Gym Athlete of the Week (Feb. 23-March 1).

In what was a rough weekend for area wrestlers, Bradbury was the only one to reach a championship match. In that match, he seemed to be on his way to a win, not only after almost pinning his opponent, but after leading 8-4 after two periods.

However, an injury from football season crept up on him and hurt his chances. Still, Bradbury's weekend was pretty strong.

He came in having not lost since Jan. 18 and carried that momentum all the way to the final. In his previous matches, Bradbury defeated Ripley's Anthony Jarvis by pin in the first round, Morgantown's Logan Wotring with a 10-0 major decision in the quarterfinals and Huntington's Stefan Gibbs 2-1 in the semifinals.